Updates on the Fight for Quality Public Education in Brevard County, FL
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5:00 .
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6:30 » Hold a moment of silent reflection and invite you all to join.
6:33 Obviously, your moment of silent reflection is up to you.
6:39 However, if you’ve not yet heard, there was a tragedy in Texas.
6:44 14 children and one teacher have been killed by an active
6:50 shooter.
6:52 So we will be reflecting on that.
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7:15 Thank you, if you would please stand for the pledge.
7:18 [BLANK_AUDIO]
7:24 » I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of
7:28 America.
7:29 And to the republic for which it stands.
7:32 One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for
7:37 all.
7:37 [BLANK_AUDIO]
7:42 » All right, at this time, I would like to offer my fellow
7:45 board members and
7:46 Dr. Mullins an opportunity to recognize student staff or
7:49 members of our community who would like to start us off this
7:51 evening.
7:52 [BLANK_AUDIO]
7:53 » I’ll go first, Ms. Binkins.
7:55 » I’m gonna be super, super quick.
7:57 I think Katie’s gonna go ahead and do the Congressional Medal
8:00 ceremony that we just
8:01 attended.
8:03 I just wanna say an additional congratulations to all of our
8:06 seniors that
8:06 graduated over this past weekend, went to a couple of ceremonies.
8:11 They were all fantastic.
8:13 Our students, their speeches, so uplifting, so hopeful.
8:17 Looking forward towards a future.
8:19 And congratulations, enjoy that moment.
8:22 And I’m really grateful that most of them didn’t get rained on.
8:26 » [LAUGH]
8:29 » Thank you, Ms. Jenkins.
8:34 All right, Ms. Campbell?
8:37 » All right, I will echo those words about graduation.
8:40 And just congratulations to our staff also for
8:43 pulling that off under some stressful weather conditions.
8:46 I did get rained on, so that’s all right, it was great.
8:52 So on a few weeks ago, we celebrated the name unveiling of our
8:58 new
8:58 manufacturing building at the Clear Lake Adult Ed Building
9:04 Program.
9:06 And we recognized Mr. Johnny Fred Bailey Sr., who was there at
9:12 the ceremony.
9:13 And it was just awesome to see the community come out,
9:15 community that he has impacted through the generations.
9:18 And we just are hopeful that what happens in that building will
9:21 continue to impact
9:22 not only the community of Cocoa, but the whole county.
9:25 And the students and adults who walk through there to get
9:27 training.
9:28 It was a wonderful recognition ceremony.
9:30 Kudos to the staff for putting on a great program.
9:33 On Saturday, the Mill High Marching Band marched for
9:37 a resident of Indialantic who is 103 years old.
9:41 He is a World War II veteran.
9:43 This is the second year in a row they’ve recognized him.
9:45 His name is Mr. Bob Clark.
9:47 And it was wonderful for our students to get to see the history
9:50 and
9:51 just to recognize a true hero in our community.
9:54 He was a member of the Air Force before it was the Air Force.
9:58 So it was a great thing for them to get to be a part of.
10:03 Also just wanted to make sure everybody continues to be aware.
10:07 If you haven’t heard yet, we’ve got some amazing secondary
10:09 enrichment programs
10:10 going on for all our rising middle and high school students.
10:14 It’s on the website, on about every school’s website, Facebook
10:17 pages,
10:18 wherever, you’ve probably seen some emails.
10:19 But take a look if you wanna give your students some great
10:22 opportunities in music
10:24 and academics and sports.
10:27 There’s all kinds of great programming going on for secondary
10:29 students this summer.
10:31 And there’s one week sessions, two week sessions, and even three
10:35 week sessions.
10:36 Finally, between our workshop and this meeting, Ms. Jenkins and
10:40 I were able to go across the street where Congressman Posey was
10:44 recognizing
10:45 our 2022 Congressional Medal of Merit Award winners.
10:49 Every school within Congressional District 8 could nominate a
10:55 student.
10:57 These students were exemplary in so many ways, especially with
11:00 their volunteerism,
11:01 their leadership, service to their school and to their community.
11:06 And so I just wanted to recognize the students from here in Brevard
11:10 County.
11:10 We had Zoe Kitt from Astronaut High School, Maya Henry from Bayside,
11:14 Jake DeLuca from Cocoa, Liam Patterson from Cocoa Beach, Haley
11:19 Neal from
11:20 O’Gally High School, who I had when I would sometimes at Central,
11:23 I remembered her.
11:24 Phoenix Boggs from Edgewood, Christina Donahue from Heritage,
11:28 Patrick Farity from Mill High, Leah Bishop from Merritt Island,
11:31 Gabriel Kunz from Odyssey Charter, Courtney Antolosi from Palm
11:36 Bay,
11:37 Alyssa Wheeler from Pineapple Cove, Talaya Shannon from Rockledge,
11:41 Neil Reddy from Satellite High, Tetravya Eason from Space Coast
11:45 Junior Senior High,
11:46 Peyton Cook from Titusville, Jaden Gentile from Vieira,
11:50 and Lily Winston from West Ward Junior Senior.
11:53 So congratulations to all those Congressional Medal of Merit
11:56 Award winners.
11:57 » [APPLAUSE]
12:03 » Thank you, Ms. Campbell, and thank you, Ms. Campbell and Ms.
12:05 Jenkins for
12:06 attending on behalf of the rest of the board, especially since I
12:10 couldn’t be
12:11 there and I really try hard to be there, but we were otherwise
12:14 committed this
12:14 afternoon as you know, so thank you, Mr. Susan?
12:18 » Yeah, so that’s great, thank you so much, Madam Chair.
12:22 First off, I wanted to congratulate Dr. Barbara Berry from O’Gally
12:27 High School.
12:28 Many of you have known that she’s an icon over at O’Gally High
12:32 School.
12:33 And this past weekend, or this past week previous to this one,
12:37 I was able to go to O’Gally.
12:38 And we were able to look at the program that she’s put together.
12:42 So Dr. Mullins and I, we’ve been going on these career and
12:44 technical tours to give internships, and we’ve got a great
12:47 robust program moving.
12:49 But Dr. Berry’s been doing it for like 20 years.
12:51 And she’s been giving internships to every one of her kids in
12:54 all of the entire
12:55 area of O’Gally, which is phenomenal.
12:58 What we are trying to model, she’s already doing and has been
13:01 doing.
13:02 Health First came to the meeting and offered up over 100 internships
13:06 to kids
13:06 at O’Gally High School through five different meetings, which
13:08 was massive.
13:10 That program with those kids is gonna be phenomenal for them to
13:13 join to.
13:14 But I did just wanna take a minute to say thank you to her and
13:16 her organization.
13:18 Many of you don’t know Dr. Berry.
13:19 If you don’t, she runs the Health and Wellness Academy at O’Gally
13:22 High School.
13:23 And is incredibly involved in many of the community businesses
13:27 that are there.
13:27 And their stories and their project boards and everything else
13:30 were really cool.
13:32 I was honored to be able to be at the Vieira, Rockledge, and O’Gally
13:35 graduations
13:36 this week.
13:37 O’Gally was last night, Dr. Mullins was hanging with me for Vieira
13:42 and O’Gally.
13:44 At O’Gally, we almost got kicked out between the two of us.
13:47 He was enticing some of the children to act inappropriately,
13:50 like dancing and stuff like that.
13:51 And I’m serious, I’m not lying to you.
13:53 At one point- » I really do qualify for hazard pay.
13:55 » At one point, he was trying to pay off the kids behind me to
13:58 push me off the stage.
13:59 So, and that is true.
14:01 So I want to let you know, I really,
14:03 actually Dr. Mullins really appreciated the time we had on the
14:07 stage.
14:07 It was actually- » Mr.
14:09 Susan, I was always behind you, that’s protocol for graduation
14:13 ceremony.
14:14 » Come on man, I just wanted to say, I’m honored to be there
14:17 with you because
14:18 you brought light to that.
14:19 And at the moment when those kids have, when they’re walking
14:22 across the graduation
14:23 stage, they’re so nervous because they think that we’re really
14:26 popular, but
14:26 we’re not, they’re like, thank you, congratulations, right?
14:30 And we’re like, we’re really not that cool.
14:32 And to bring levity to that and tell them that we’re so proud of
14:35 them,
14:35 I can’t tell you how many times behind me, Dr. Mullins was
14:38 saying,
14:38 we’re really proud of you, congratulations.
14:41 And to have a superintendent doing that was really cool.
14:43 Besides the fact we’re not gonna be invited back to O’Gally
14:45 because I think it
14:46 started the EG what behind us because of the drum roll that we
14:49 got him going on.
14:50 It was pretty incredible.
14:51 So I want to apologize to Jeremy Solomon principal right now for
14:54 our behavior last night.
14:56 It was exacerbated by Dr. Mullins.
14:59 So anyways, I just want to say that, but anytime, anytime.
15:03 So the other thing I wanted to say is, is I met last night with
15:06 many groups.
15:07 We had spoken before about moving forward on doing some things
15:12 with veteran speaking projects and all of those things.
15:15 So I met with the groups last night.
15:16 I’m trying to create a bipartisan style program where we support
15:21 the civics
15:22 inside of our schools and that they have representatives for
15:24 each school to work
15:25 with the teachers on bringing the veteran speaking projects, the
15:30 essays that
15:31 many of these organizations have that they try to bring.
15:34 Many of the principals that are in the audience understand they
15:36 come at the last
15:36 minute in March and they say, hey, can you get 100 kids to write
15:40 this 10 page essay
15:41 for us and the heart goes out to them because you’re like, hey,
15:44 that was part of
15:45 our curriculum back in November and now we’re like literally
15:48 testing season and
15:49 they just don’t get that.
15:51 So the idea is that we’re gonna try to align many of the
15:54 programs so
15:55 that they understand when to draw those essays, when to meet
15:58 with staff, and
15:59 to give awards to our kids at the end, like during the award
16:02 ceremonies at the end.
16:03 They really wanna do something, they just don’t know how to meander
16:07 that.
16:07 So I had the meeting last night actually before the O’Gally High
16:10 School and
16:11 they were really excited.
16:12 Many of you guys know Don Weaver, great guy.
16:14 He’s been running now the veteran speaking project now for over
16:17 six years.
16:18 Him and I started that thing years ago.
16:20 I got on school board, he just kept trucking along.
16:21 It’s literally the largest veteran speaking project in the
16:24 United States.
16:25 Go figure, he’s been killing it.
16:27 So he just said, look, I need some help.
16:29 I need more veterans, I could use some support here to be a help
16:32 to our kids.
16:33 So I was really honored for that and that’s all I’ve got.
16:35 Thank you very much.
16:36 » Thank you, Mr. Susan, good stuff.
16:40 » So I have a few things.
16:42 First, I want to give a shout out and a thank you.
16:46 I was able to go to the Cocoa High School ribbon cutting for
16:49 their new track.
16:50 So I want to thank our facilities department, our city of Cocoa,
16:55 and also the school themselves because they all banded together
17:00 to raise the money
17:01 to put it together and the track is absolutely amazing.
17:05 It’s a great track.
17:05 So thank you for the teamwork that everybody worked together to
17:09 make this
17:09 trap happen.
17:10 So that was on Monday and then later that night I came here to
17:16 see the graduates of the intern graduates from the CTE program.
17:20 And I think, Ms. Dr. Sullivan, we had 15, is that about right?
17:26 15, 21, I’m way off.
17:30 21 students graduate with certificates from our intern program
17:34 and some of them.
17:36 Ms. Hand’s department, I think wins the cake for hiring.
17:40 [LAUGH] There’s a lot of our students are going to go into right
17:44 into jobs with HVAC,
17:45 which is great.
17:47 So that was kind of fun.
17:48 And then on Tuesday, I was able to go to a school that I
17:52 normally don’t go to,
17:52 Sherwood, and it is the most, kind of a bad word.
17:59 But it’s a cute school because I walk in and I feel like I’m in
18:02 Sherwood Forest.
18:03 My goodness.
18:05 And I want to thank Principal Marenus for welcoming me, giving
18:08 me a tour.
18:09 But I was there to give two impact elevated pins.
18:13 One to a bus driver, Ms. Sandy, and one to an IA, Mr. Carlos.
18:19 And that’s how they’re known, and what they both have done is
18:22 work very hard,
18:24 develop plans, work together to work with a student
18:28 that has a difficult time connecting with other adults.
18:32 And can be a behavioral problem, but throughout this year,
18:36 they have worked together as a team and to help this child be
18:40 successful.
18:41 And they went above and beyond.
18:42 They didn’t have to put together a plan.
18:43 They didn’t have to do what they did, and they did.
18:45 So I want to give a shout out to both of them.
18:48 I then kind of popped over to Roosevelt because I know the
18:51 principal there is
18:52 leaving, they’re moving to another state.
18:54 And I wanted to thank her for all that she’s done.
18:57 And then I was at, it was a busy week, it was just a really a
19:01 busy week.
19:04 I was back at Cocoa, and I was asked to speak at the induction
19:08 ceremony for
19:09 the new SGA, and I think it was a great ceremony.
19:15 It was short and sweet.
19:16 The kids were excited.
19:18 And I didn’t realize that they elect for the next three years.
19:24 I did not realize that.
19:25 So I guess I was able to meet all the electors at that meeting.
19:30 And then of course, graduation, we were so lucky that it didn’t
19:34 rain.
19:35 Cocoa, we were just kind of moving along really quick near the
19:39 end because
19:39 the clouds kept getting darker and the thunder kept rolling.
19:42 So we missed the rain, thank goodness.
19:45 And then I was lucky enough to go to Edgewoods and then to Merritt
19:48 Island.
19:49 And the students in Cocoa do dance across the stage, they do.
19:57 And we had a couple at, not at Edgewood, but at Merritt Island.
20:02 It was really great, it was great.
20:05 I believe that this graduating class is gonna do great things.
20:10 And I think our future looks good with the kids and
20:14 the students that have graduated.
20:15 So I’m very excited for all of them.
20:16 So that was my week.
20:18 » Did you tell one of those kids you used to have a mullet, is
20:20 that what you had?
20:22 Cuz he did, he did, he did, she’s not moving.
20:25 [LAUGH] » There’s pictures of it someplace,
20:29 Mr. Susan.
20:29 » It is, he did.
20:32 » Just go back to Cocoa Beach High School yearbook, it is true.
20:34 » [LAUGH] » Ms. Jenkins,
20:36 you had something you wanted to circle back on?
20:38 » Yes, I’m sorry, I forgot something, but Ms. McDougall just
20:40 reminded me.
20:42 So over the past week or so, I’ve gotten a lot of emails from
20:45 some of our amazing
20:46 young female students who are attending Girl State in the next
20:51 week or two.
20:52 And so we’ve obviously got some males going there to Boys State
20:55 as well.
20:55 But I know that our females are going up to Washington DC,
20:58 which is really an amazing opportunity for them.
21:01 It’s a great program that they have to be nominated for and
21:03 accepted to go ahead and participate in.
21:05 And it was really fun talking to some really young,
21:09 inspiring females who are looking into being a part of public
21:13 service and
21:14 really digging for that.
21:15 So congratulations to all of those girls that I had a
21:17 conversation with.
21:19 I don’t know everybody else who made it, but congratulations to
21:22 you as well.
21:23 » Thank you, Ms. Jenkins.
21:25 Dr. Mullins?
21:27 » Thank you, Ms. Belford.
21:27 I wanna begin by adding on to the shout outs to our intern
21:32 opportunities.
21:34 Last night, in the boardroom here, we had internships signing
21:40 for
21:40 six seniors upon graduation will go to L3Harris for
21:45 a full time paid internship for the next year.
21:49 Last year, L3Harris came to us and wanted that we nurtured that
21:54 partnership.
21:55 They came into the interview process saying we want eight
22:00 interns.
22:01 They walked away from the interview saying there were too many
22:03 good ones,
22:04 we’ll take ten.
22:06 I’m so proud to share that of those ten from last year,
22:11 seven are remaining employed with L3Harris.
22:13 The other three are pursuing some post-secondary opportunities
22:18 now.
22:19 But we have six more seniors that are going to L3Harris from Bayside
22:24 High
22:25 School’s manufacturing engineering programs.
22:27 So very proud of our CTE programs across this
22:33 district that continue to set the pace across the state.
22:36 But also phenomenal business partnerships that just continue to
22:41 grow.
22:42 L3Harris, as the board knows, has been an amazing partner with
22:45 Brevard schools for
22:46 a long time, but are always looking to take their partnership to
22:50 the next level.
22:51 And we’re thrilled to provide them their workforce shortage
22:55 solution.
22:56 So if you are out there listening about how could a student
23:00 intern
23:01 benefit your business, please come and talk to us.
23:04 We have amazing young men and women who are equipped,
23:07 prepared to work in several different kinds of industries across
23:11 our district.
23:13 I’d also like to do a shout out to our procurement and
23:19 distribution services office, kind of one of those small offices
23:23 behind the scenes
23:24 that has a tremendous lift for the district.
23:27 But I’m so proud of the excellence that is demonstrated in
23:31 leadership,
23:32 as well as in service.
23:34 Once again, they are being recognized with the Florida
23:38 Association of
23:39 Public Procurement Officials Award of Excellence in Public Procurement
23:44 for 2022.
23:45 They’ve been a recipient of that for a few years now.
23:49 But this year, they also received one of only three best
23:54 practice awards for 2022.
23:56 The best practice award was established to recognize outstanding
24:01 best practices and
24:02 procurement.
24:03 It recognizes agencies who have implemented an innovative cost
24:06 saving
24:07 best practice or a best practice that benefits the community or
24:10 the public procurement profession.
24:13 Ms. Christy Rodriguez, our director of procurement just has been
24:18 a pacesetter
24:20 in our procurement practices.
24:22 The board knows that last year they saved the district over $2
24:26 million in contract
24:27 renegotiations, and just so very proud of our strong team in
24:31 procurement and
24:32 distribution services, so shout out to Christy and her team.
24:37 I’d like to add my congratulations to our seniors, but
24:40 also just a huge thank you to our principal.
24:45 The board has the privilege, and I do, and other district staff
24:49 to spend
24:50 a little bit of time with principals before the graduation
24:53 ceremony begins.
24:54 And I think you would agree that the personal attention,
25:00 ownership and responsibility that our principals take to put on
25:05 a ceremony of distinction for our graduates is no small
25:11 responsibility.
25:13 We see all the logistics that go on, but our principals do it
25:16 with such grace,
25:18 and such poise, and such professionalism.
25:21 It is such a pride moment for us as leaders of our schools,
25:28 and that’s only simply because our principals
25:31 take such a great interest in the graduation ceremony, but it
25:36 goes beyond that.
25:37 I heard of stories from principals, and
25:42 it’s not just the high school staff that come to a graduation.
25:45 It’s middle school principals.
25:46 It’s elementary principals come to graduation ceremonies.
25:50 We had walkouts in our elementary schools where seniors went
25:54 back to their
25:54 elementary school and walked through the halls and set the
25:57 example for
25:58 our current elementary students as to what they are so proud
26:05 about in graduation.
26:06 And the impact that the elementary schools had,
26:08 had the same experience with our middle schools.
26:10 It is truly a school community experience, and just enormously
26:15 proud of
26:16 the investment that our leaders and our teachers make in our
26:19 students.
26:20 And the student speeches that I heard across three different
26:25 graduations,
26:26 my goodness, our future is in tremendous capable hands.
26:32 These young men and women are just phenomenal.
26:35 They’re insightful reflection on what they’ve experienced as
26:40 young people over the last four years of their high school
26:43 career.
26:44 And how they translate that into a challenge to their peers on
26:48 stage,
26:49 in front of thousands of people, to then challenge them to go
26:53 into their future.
26:55 My favorite moment in graduation, outside of the student
26:59 speeches,
27:00 is that moment at the end when you see hundreds of mortar boards
27:05 fly in the air.
27:07 And for me, it’s kind of a symbolic representation of now you go
27:12 fly, you go soar.
27:14 You may not know the direction it’s gonna take you, and
27:17 you certainly may not know where you’re gonna land.
27:20 But the opportunity to soar and go out and
27:22 reach your potential has never been greater and we’ve set you up
27:26 for success.
27:26 So appreciate the moment to reflect on our graduation.
27:30 And have one more request, Mr.
27:35 Brun will cue up a video, but I would suggest we do that after.
27:40 You’ve had a chance to share your shout outs, Mrs. Belford.
27:43 But I think it’s a nice little few minute culmination of school
27:48 year 22.
27:49 » Thank you, and I will actually be brief, cuz most of what I
27:52 was going to discuss
27:53 has already been discussed in one way or another.
27:56 Like the rest of you, had the opportunity to attend multiple
27:58 graduations.
27:59 And one of the things that I love is the uniqueness of each and
28:02 every one of them,
28:03 that every single one of the graduations,
28:06 there’s something that you can take away that’s just special
28:09 about that school.
28:12 So, and yes, thank you so much for our principals and
28:15 our staff that make all of that happen.
28:16 And I know, especially when we’re facing challenging and
28:20 questionable weather, it makes it a little more difficult.
28:23 And sometimes there’s some high emotions around graduation
28:26 anyway.
28:27 And so the fact that they literally weather the storms in a lot
28:30 of situations,
28:31 we appreciate.
28:33 I also had the opportunity to attend the Emma Jewel eighth grade
28:36 graduation.
28:39 And if you have not had the opportunity to go to one of those,
28:42 I encourage you to do so at some point in your tenure on the
28:45 board.
28:46 Sweet, sweet ceremony.
28:47 They had 26 graduates, which was their largest graduating class,
28:50 eighth graders going on to ninth grade at the various high
28:53 schools.
28:55 And wanted to thank Dr. Danielle McKinnon, who was one of their
28:58 speakers that came
29:01 and spoke to provide some inspiration for the students,
29:03 along with a couple of other community leaders.
29:05 And so a great, great ceremony.
29:07 One of the really sweet things that they do is at the end of
29:10 their ceremony,
29:11 they do a rose ceremony.
29:13 Obviously, with only 26 students, you can do a lot of things
29:15 that you can’t do,
29:16 with 300, right?
29:18 But each of the students takes a rose and gives it to their
29:21 person.
29:22 Whether it’s mom, dad, aunt, grandma, whoever, super, super
29:27 sweet.
29:27 I was with Alberta Wilson, and I sat on stage together, and
29:31 there was not a dry eye in the house by the time it was all over
29:34 and done with.
29:35 And Alberta said, thanks for crying with me today.
29:38 And I was like, hey, I’m all about the tears this weekend.
29:40 So yeah, very, very sweet.
29:43 And thank you, Thomas Cole and your team, for allowing me to
29:45 join you.
29:46 It’s not our traditional graduation, but still a great
29:49 opportunity.
29:50 So with that, as Mr.
29:53 Brun is approaching, I’m gonna say just one more thing.
29:55 Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of the parents that
29:57 completed your
29:58 parent survey.
29:58 We had a great workshop earlier today where Mr.
30:02 Brun shared a lot of the parent survey feedback with us.
30:05 And if you didn’t get an opportunity to see it, I encourage you
30:07 to go back and
30:08 take a look at it.
30:09 But thank you to all the parents that took the time to share
30:11 that very valuable
30:12 feedback, because it was lots of great data for us to work on
30:16 going forward.
30:17 So thank you, with that, Mr. Brun.
30:18 [MUSIC]
34:52 » In that context, a few weeks ago, Dr. Green and her morale
34:56 team put out a call
34:58 for show your school spirit, and kind of just put it out there.
35:03 And we, to our schools, and they came together.
35:06 And obviously, you could see the fun they had in coming together
35:11 as school family,
35:12 and demonstrating their school pride.
35:15 And then we rewarded the very hard selection.
35:18 I think we’re only gonna recognize a handful of schools, but
35:21 we ended up doing ten of the entries with ice cream for the
35:24 whole faculty and staff.
35:26 And so we’ve been delivering ice cream over the last couple
35:30 weeks across our
35:31 award recipients.
35:32 And I just wanna use this opportunity as we close the final days
35:37 of school year 22.
35:39 To serve as superintendent with an army of men and
35:44 women who are the epitome of real life superheroes.
35:50 We need not look at movie trailers, billboards, or comic books.
35:56 We have real live men and women all across this community,
36:01 serving in our schools, making life changing,
36:05 life saving impact in the children of Brevard County.
36:10 Thank you to our teachers, our staff, our administrators,
36:15 our teachers, our teams across so many vast departments for
36:20 bringing us through,
36:21 unquestionably, the most challenging year we faced in education
36:25 in our lifetime.
36:26 Very proud of you.
36:27 Thank you, Ms. Belfort.
36:30 » [APPLAUSE]
36:36 [BLANK_AUDIO]
36:38 » All right, that is going to bring us to the adoption of the
36:41 agenda, Dr. Collins.
36:44 » Mrs. Belfort and members of the board, on this evening’s
36:46 agenda,
36:47 we have administrative staff recommendations, two recognitions,
36:51 15 consent items.
36:52 Two public hearings, five action items, and two information
36:55 items.
36:56 Changes made to the agenda since release to the public include
37:00 the addition of
37:01 items B9, GIS volunteer for facility services.
37:04 And F20, approved memoranda of agreement with Brevard Federation
37:08 of Teachers.
37:09 Revisions were made to items A7, administrative staff
37:12 recommendations.
37:14 F16, reappointment nominations of annual contract teachers for
37:19 the 2022-23 school year.
37:21 F17, administrative and professional reappointment nominations
37:27 for
37:27 the 2022-23 school year.
37:30 F18, reappointment nominations of support personnel and school
37:34 safety and
37:35 security specialists for the 2022-23 school year.
37:39 And I34, administrative procedures,
37:43 use of district facilities, board policy 7510.
37:48 Also the Viera, excuse me, administrative procedure 7510.
37:54 Also the Viera High School Classroom Edition design build
37:58 services item was deleted.
38:00 » What are the wishes of the board?
38:03 » Move to approve.
38:05 » Moved by Ms. McDougall, seconded by Ms. Campbell.
38:07 Is there any discussion?
38:09 All in favor, please signify by saying aye.
38:11 » Aye. » Any opposed?
38:12 Same sign.
38:13 Motion passes 5-0.
38:15 Dr. Mullensby, please let us know about the administrative staff
38:18 recommendations this evening.
38:20 » Ms. Belford and members of the board, there are 17 items for
38:22 your consideration.
38:24 » What are the wishes of the board?
38:25 » Second.
38:26 » Moved by Mr. Susan, seconded by Ms. McDougall.
38:28 Is there any discussion?
38:30 All in favor, please signify by saying aye.
38:32 » Aye.
38:33 » Any opposed?
38:34 Same sign.
38:35 Motion passes 5-0.
38:36 Dr. Mullens.
38:41 » So I’d like to take this opportunity to recognize and
38:45 congratulate the following individuals who are, I believe, with
38:48 us this evening.
38:49 We are thrilled to welcome you into the administrative arm of BPS
38:54 family for the reclassification
38:57 from assistant principal at Fairglenn Elementary School to
39:00 principal at Apollo Elementary School, Ms. Amy Delago.
39:05 Congratulations, Ms. Delago.
39:11 Mr. Bruhn is bringing you a microphone.
39:26 » Thank you, Dr. Mullens, Mrs. Klein, and the school board.
39:30 Thank you for this opportunity to continue in my leadership role
39:33 as the principal of Apollo Elementary.
39:35 Thank you to the many Brevard leaders who helped and guided and
39:38 supported me along the way in my leadership journey.
39:41 Thank you to Katherine Murphy and Kristy Meraz for showing me
39:47 examples of what a true leader looks like.
39:52 I thank you for your continuous support and your support that
39:55 you will provide me for months to come in advance.
39:58 I thank you.
40:01 I also want to thank the team, Fairglenn team, who will always
40:04 have a piece of my heart.
40:06 And finally, my family.
40:08 I wouldn’t be here without them.
40:11 And I look forward to serving the families and the staff of
40:13 Apollo Elementary.
40:15 Thank you.
40:23 » And now I want to congratulate Ms. Jennifer Rosado,
40:26 reclassed from assistant principal at Cocoa High School to
40:29 assistant principal at Jackson Middle School.
40:32 Congratulations, Ms. Rosado.
40:39 » Thank you, Dr. Mullens and board members, for allowing me to
40:42 obtain this position.
40:44 I am eternally grateful.
40:46 I just want to show my gratitude and, you know, just happiness
40:53 because it’s been a long journey.
40:55 I took a leap of faith coming from Osceola County.
40:59 I uprooted my family and moved closer to be at Cocoa High School
41:03 in the middle of COVID.
41:05 So I just want to say thank you to my family, my husband, my
41:08 daughters for indulging me in that.
41:11 And Mr. Wilson for opening his doors to me at Cocoa and becoming
41:16 a part of the Brevard family.
41:18 I’m just eternally grateful.
41:20 And now thank you to Ms. Susan for taking a chance on me and
41:24 allowing me to take on this position by her side and becoming
41:28 her right hand.
41:30 Dr. Sullivan, Ms. Vega, the board members, Mr. Mullens, I am eternally
41:34 grateful.
41:35 Thank you so much.
41:37 You are very welcome.
41:42 And now a huge congratulations to Ms. Clarissa Kirk, who is reclassed
41:47 from teacher at Brevard Virtual School to assistant principal of
41:52 our Brevard Virtual School.
41:54 Congratulations, Ms. Kirk.
41:58 » Thank you.
41:59 Thank you, Dr. Mullens.
42:00 Thank you, board members.
42:01 Thank you, Dr. Sullivan.
42:03 You guys are all professionals at this.
42:05 I’m going to get real good.
42:06 I think that’s going to be my number one task to start with is
42:09 speaking as an administrator.
42:12 I want to first thank you for this opportunity, having me here,
42:16 my family.
42:17 » Mom, seriously?
42:21 » Good for you, Mom.
42:26 » I want to thank my friends and family watching from home.
42:29 I want to thank Dr. Quam, who proofread several of my papers
42:32 before submitting them through the masters that I just
42:35 accomplished two years ago.
42:37 And signed up for my masters a week before spring break of 2020
42:41 and thought, this is a great idea.
42:43 And we all know that was the hardest two years, especially for
42:46 Brevard Virtual School, what we went through on top of a masters.
42:50 So on top of that, I want to thank my fearless leader.
42:55 I’m not going to look at her because I’ll tear, Principal
42:58 Heather Price.
42:59 She has been a fantastic role model, mentor.
43:03 She has encouraged me to take this leadership leap two years ago.
43:07 And here I am standing in front of you.
43:09 So I’m keeping my tears in.
43:12 And my family, definitely not looking at them.
43:16 But they have put – had to deal with a mom that was taking on a
43:21 lot of tasks and wore a lot of hats for our program.
43:27 And I don’t even know the titles of those hats, but we made that
43:30 happen.
43:31 And my kids were there, my husband, and my oldest, who is a Navy
43:35 SEAL, and he used to tell me, full send, Mom, make it happen.
43:38 So that’s what I did.
43:41 And I want to thank the BBS team.
43:43 We may not be under the same roof every day, Virtual School, but
43:47 we are 56 united BBS family.
43:50 And you will never believe how tight we are.
43:53 So I am excited to be their leader and administrator.
43:57 And this past year has given me administrative endurance.
44:01 So game on. Here we go.
44:03 [Applause]
44:14 » Do you want to say anything?
44:15 » All right. See, they already know.
44:17 So I want to just extend my congratulations again to our newly
44:20 appointed administrators in your role.
44:23 But also extend my thanks to the family members that are here.
44:27 Not only to support them this evening, but the journey you’ve
44:30 been on with your loved one to get them to this place.
44:33 And the journey you’ll be on as we move forward.
44:35 Because being an administrator is not for the weak at heart.
44:39 And I commend you and thank you for being there for our leaders
44:44 to serve our community.
44:46 So thank you to the families as well.
44:50 » Thank you, Dr. Mullins. And congratulations to all of you.
44:55 All right. You are up again, Dr. Mullins, with our recognitions
44:58 for this evening.
44:59 » All right.
45:02 » Our first item is to acknowledge the programs and teachers
45:06 recognized by the Florida Music Education Association,
45:10 the John Phillips Sousa Foundation, and the American String
45:14 Teachers Association.
45:16 And to give us more information, introduce our awardees, Dr.
45:20 Stephanie Sullivan, Assistant Superintendent of Secondary
45:22 Leading and Learning.
45:24 Dr. Sullivan.
45:25 » Thank you, Dr. Mullins, Ms. Belford, and members of the board.
45:29 And both our visiting audience and those at home.
45:32 I am pleased to present to you this year’s award recipients who
45:37 represent a history of excellence in Brevard Public Schools.
45:42 The importance of music in the development of a child is well
45:46 known.
45:47 Music positively impacts academic performance, supports the
45:52 development of social skills, and provides an outlet for
45:56 creativity and expression.
45:58 We do not take for granted the board’s continued support of
46:02 music for all students.
46:04 And we celebrate our community for continuing to value this
46:08 investment.
46:10 In a quote attributed to Plato, it is said that music is a more
46:15 potent instrument than any other for education because rhythm
46:20 and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul.
46:26 As a lifelong educator and former band mom, I can tell you from
46:30 firsthand knowledge that music fuels passion in ways that I don’t
46:35 believe we will ever fully understand.
46:39 The impact is different for every child.
46:42 But that word harmony comes back to me when I think about the
46:46 power of collective sound and the indiscriminate way that it
46:50 brings people together.
46:53 Tonight we recognize schools and individuals that in the midst
46:57 of expanding options continue to offer exemplary programs that
47:01 draw in students to participate in the immersive experience of
47:06 music.
47:07 But before we get started, I do need to recognize two
47:10 individuals that couldn’t be here tonight for medical reasons.
47:14 First, Miss Minnie Orr, our content specialist for K-12 music,
47:19 and Miss Molly Vega, our director of secondary leading and
47:23 learning for acceleration and enrichment.
47:26 I know they want to be here today to recognize these leaders
47:29 themselves, so I wanted to thank them for their contribution as
47:33 well.
47:34 Dr. Mullins and Miss Belford, would you please come forward to
47:41 present the award to our honorees who are with us today?
47:47 The Florida Music Education Association, affectionately known as
47:52 FMEA, promotes quality, comprehensive music education for all
47:56 Florida students.
47:58 Accordingly, they annually recognize schools that serve a
48:01 significant percentage of students with music.
48:04 Receiving the FMEA Middle School Music Education Enrollment
48:09 Award for having 50% of the school population enrolled in a
48:14 music class, Central Middle School.
48:17 We would like to specifically recognize Principal Todd Shear,
48:26 Band Director Daniel Lee, Guitar and Keyboard Teacher Yvette Lopret,
48:35 Orchestra Director Robin Morris, Choral Director Robert
48:39 Washington, and String Specialist Nancy Jackson.
48:47 Congratulations again to Central Middle School.
49:14 I want to throw in additional comments when you consider that
49:17 Central Middle School is our largest middle school.
49:21 And imagine over 50%, that is over 500 to 600 students
49:26 participating in music. Pretty incredible.
49:30 Now receiving the FMEA Middle School Music Education Enrollment
49:37 Award for having 49% of their school population enrolled in a
49:45 music class, Jackson Middle School.
49:50 Joining us today, Principal Tina Susan, Band Director Megan
49:55 Doyle, Chorus and Orchestra Teacher Alexandria Rietz, and our
50:01 String Specialist Marci Sperrer.
50:21 Congratulations Jackson.
50:30 Now I have to mention the threshold was 40%. So these schools
50:30 not only achieved it, they let pass the expectation for
50:30 excellence. Very proud.
50:43 Now before I mention the high school award, I want to emphasize
50:46 how prestigious this is, because we know of the abundance of
50:50 options we give our high school students, we actually take pride
50:54 in the abundance of options we give them.
50:57 So in the state of Florida, there were only three schools
51:05 statewide that were recognized as high schools receiving the
51:13 award. Receiving the FMEA High School Music Education Enrollment
51:19 Award, Titusville High School.
51:22 I’d like to recognize Principal Jennifer Gonzalez, Chorus
51:27 Teacher Brian Rohrer, Band Teacher Ian Schwent, Orchestra
51:32 Teacher Jennifer Zahn, String Specialist Marci Sperrer.
51:52 Congratulations Titusville High School.
52:09 I’m going to put Mr. Schwent in an awkward spot.
52:14 The John Philip Sousa Foundation established the Band World
52:19 Legion of Honor Award to recognize the finest band directors in
52:24 the nation.
52:26 The criteria for this award is as follows. The recipient must
52:30 have at least 15 years of teaching experience. The recipient
52:34 must have consistently maintained a high quality concert band
52:38 program and must have contributed significantly to the
52:41 profession through dedication to bands and band music.
52:46 This year’s honoree is Mr. Ian Schwent.
53:00 He has served as band director of Titusville High School for
53:14 over 20 years. Mr. Schwent believes that every student has the
53:20 right and privilege to learn about and participate in music at
53:20 all levels of education, regardless of social factors, economic
53:20 barriers, or cognitive or physical limitations.
53:20 Further, Mr. Schwent believes music education must be of the
53:24 highest possible quality and it must meet students at their
53:28 level of proficiency and challenge them to achieve significant
53:32 personal growth.
53:34 Congratulations to Mr. Ian Schwent for receiving the John Philip
53:44 Sousa Band World Legion of Honor Award.
54:04 Congratulations, Mr. Schwent.
54:16 Although it has been mentioned in board meetings, we could not
54:19 discuss excellence in music without a formal recognition of Mr.
54:23 Eric Bryan and the O’Gally High School Chamber Orchestra.
54:27 They earned the Grand National Champion title at the American
54:30 String Teachers Association National Conference, which was held
54:34 in Atlanta, Georgia this past March.
54:37 Ensembles invited to participate in the National Orchestra
54:41 Festival are carefully selected from a rigorous application and
54:45 audition process.
54:47 Students not only competed to be recognized as the best high
54:50 school orchestra in the United States, but also received
54:54 valuable comments from leading adjudicators and participated in
54:58 a personalized post-performance clinic with renowned clinicians.
55:03 Mr. Bryan and the O’Gally Chamber Orchestra are the first
55:09 orchestra in the state of Florida to be recognized as Grand
55:16 National Champions.
55:19 performance to close out the recognition.
55:49 [MUSIC]
56:19 » [APPLAUSE]
56:38 » That’s twice in this presentation I’ve gotten goosebumps now.
56:41 And we will certainly extend the appreciation of the board and
56:44 the district to Mr. Brian and his students.
56:48 And they are hoping to come in person to perform in the fall.
56:52 And so thank you all very much for joining me in saluting
56:56 excellence in music in
56:57 Brevard Public Schools.
56:58 » Thank you, Dr. Sullivan.
57:00 » [APPLAUSE]
57:04 » Thank you, Dr. Sullivan.
57:05 And again, congratulations to our exemplary music programs
57:10 across Brevard.
57:13 We, again, are state pace setters in music excellence in the
57:17 state of Florida.
57:19 I could go on giving evidence to that beyond just tonight.
57:24 Maybe we lead the state in the number of exemplary programs plus,
57:29 but just so very proud of the work of our music educators.
57:34 Our next recognition is to recognize a young man who we are
57:42 extraordinarily proud of and quite frankly, feel blessed across
57:46 Brevard schools
57:47 to have the privilege to get to know, teach, mentor, and so on.
57:53 This young man, Julian Wan, an Edgewood Junior Senior High
57:58 School senior,
57:59 has dedicated over six years to our district.
58:04 Ms. Suhan, Assistant Superintendent of Facilities,
58:06 will provide more information on his service.
58:09 This almost needs a drum roll.
58:11 But I’ll let you take over, Ms. Han.
58:13 » If only we had some music folks here.
58:14 » [LAUGH]
58:16 » So good evening, Madam Chairman, members of the board, Dr.
58:19 Mullins, Sue Han, the Assistant Superintendent of Facilities
58:22 Services.
58:23 And this is such a rare opportunity for
58:25 me because in facilities, we don’t often get to recognize
58:29 students.
58:30 So super excited to be here and honor a student that, as Dr.
58:34 Mullins said, has been with us for six years as a volunteer.
58:38 And I wanted to invite Mr. Lindemann, our Director of Planning
58:41 and
58:42 Project Management, and Ms. Karen Black, who is our Manager of
58:46 Planning and
58:47 Intergovernmental Coordination.
58:48 They have worked very closely with our student, Mr. Julian Wan,
58:53 and
58:54 wanna say a few words and then invite him to receive his award.
59:00 » Good evening, thanks for having us.
59:02 We’re honored to recognize Julian Wan tonight, kind of a short
59:09 story.
59:09 I’ll tell, back in 2016, I was at a geographic
59:14 information system professional meeting.
59:17 And Eastern Florida College was in the audience with their
59:23 representatives,
59:24 and I made a plug like, hey, it would be great for us to take on
59:29 a GIS intern.
59:30 If there’s any college students out there, that would be
59:34 terrific.
59:35 And after the meeting, Mr.
59:40 Li-Sing Huang, aka Julian’s father, came up to me and
59:44 said, my son’s really interested in GIS and potentially he might
59:50 wanna volunteer.
59:52 I said, wow, that’s great, yeah, I’d love to meet him.
59:55 He said, yeah, and he’s gonna be starting seventh grade in the
59:58 fall.
59:59 » [LAUGH] » So we’re like, okay, well,
1:00:02 that’s what we do, our mission is to serve the students.
1:00:05 So he came in and we found a tremendously motivated and
1:00:11 tremendously intelligent student who just stepped right in.
1:00:14 At the time, we were trying to get the word out to the public
1:00:19 about all
1:00:19 the great stuff we were doing with the sales for tax referendum.
1:00:24 We wanted to make sure that we were showing the good work and
1:00:29 Julian built a online mapping program that actually showed all
1:00:35 the schools
1:00:36 on the map, a list of all the different items that were part of
1:00:39 the construction
1:00:40 project, whether those things were completed, whatever the
1:00:44 status was,
1:00:45 the year that they were planned for, and got that out to the
1:00:49 public.
1:00:50 He was recognized at the Independent Citizens Oversight
1:00:53 Committee for this work.
1:00:55 And then he went into eighth grade.
1:00:58 So we were like, I mean, the work that he did for
1:01:03 us over the last few years has been tremendous.
1:01:06 Another great project he worked on was informing the community
1:01:10 about
1:01:10 the construction status of the new Viera Elementary School.
1:01:14 We had drone videos, we had meetings, we had all kinds of
1:01:19 information.
1:01:19 And of course, maps of where the school was located.
1:01:23 And he put that together in a ArcGIS online story map,
1:01:27 which you can see linked on our website.
1:01:31 Throughout the years, just tremendous amount of advanced
1:01:34 professional,
1:01:35 technical mapping skills that he’s provided to our department,
1:01:39 and
1:01:39 we’ve been thrilled to have him.
1:01:42 We know that whatever he does in the future, it’s gonna be very
1:01:46 successful.
1:01:47 And we’d like to thank him and recognize him today with a plaque.
1:01:53 Karen Black, our manager of facilities planning, and myself.
1:01:57 And we invite Julian to come up, would like to ask you for a
1:02:02 photo, if that’s okay.
1:02:03 » [APPLAUSE]
1:02:17 [BLANK_AUDIO]
1:03:06 [APPLAUSE]
1:03:14 [BLANK_AUDIO]
1:03:26 » So just quickly, thanks.
1:03:28 » [LAUGH]
1:03:33 » Not that volunteering for
1:03:34 six years is a prerequisite to being offered a paid internship.
1:03:39 But Julian, I think we could find a place for you in a paid
1:03:43 internship.
1:03:44 So you keep us in mind, are you heading off to college?
1:03:48 Well, I wish you the, what’s your school choice?
1:03:53 All right, all right, losing one of our best to, well, it’s all
1:03:58 right.
1:03:58 We’ll get you back.
1:04:00 We will get you back.
1:04:01 But keep us in mind as you continue your education journey.
1:04:06 We would love to have you come back and join Team BPS.
1:04:09 You’ve already made an overwhelmingly positive impression.
1:04:13 Thank you for your years of service.
1:04:16 Mom, dad, thank you so much for the investment you’ve made in
1:04:19 this young man.
1:04:20 I know you’re tremendously proud of him, and so are we.
1:04:24 And thank you for entrusting him to us, not only at Edgewood,
1:04:27 but
1:04:27 also at Facility Services.
1:04:30 » Thank you.
1:04:31 I also wanted to say thank you to Mr. David Lindman and
1:04:37 Ms. Karen Black for giving me the opportunity to be able to work
1:04:41 with them.
1:04:44 I can say with certainty that I have learned a lot from this
1:04:46 experience.
1:04:48 And also, thank you to my parents for being good mentors,
1:04:54 and introducing me to this opportunity.
1:04:59 » [APPLAUSE]
1:05:06 » Dave, can he do it remotely?
1:05:08 » [LAUGH]
1:05:11 » Look, University of Florida, man, don’t matter.
1:05:13 » That’s right.
1:05:13 » He’s graduating, he’s not together.
1:05:16 » You don’t need to get picked.
1:05:18 » All right, we are now at the public comment portion of our
1:05:21 meeting on
1:05:22 agenda items specifically.
1:05:24 We have two speakers on agenda items this evening.
1:05:26 Therefore, each speaker will receive three minutes.
1:05:29 Please note that the time is per speaker, not per agenda item.
1:05:32 Topics not specific to agenda items will be moved to the non-agenda
1:05:35 portion of
1:05:35 the meeting.
1:05:37 We have a clock in front of me to help you keep track of your
1:05:39 time.
1:05:39 When your time is over, you will be asked to stop and
1:05:41 allow the next speaker his or her turn.
1:05:44 Always keep in mind that reasonable decorum is expected, and
1:05:46 your statement should be directed to the board chair.
1:05:49 The chair may interrupt, warn, or terminate a participant’s
1:05:52 statement.
1:05:52 When time is up, it’s personally directed, abusive, obscene, or
1:05:56 relevant.
1:05:57 Should an individual not observe proper etiquette,
1:06:00 the chair may request the individual to leave the meeting.
1:06:03 For the audience, please remember that outside of your personal
1:06:05 public comment
1:06:06 period, your role is as an observer.
1:06:09 Therefore, I would ask that you please not disrupt the meeting
1:06:12 by interjecting
1:06:13 comments or noises during public comments.
1:06:17 Our speakers for agenda items this evening are Katie Delaney and
1:06:20 Anthony Colucci, if you all would please approach.
1:06:27 [BLANK_AUDIO]
1:06:36 » Good evening, board.
1:06:38 I’m here today to speak about the, I believe it’s F-13, about
1:06:45 the finances.
1:06:47 As I was looking through these, and
1:06:53 I do appreciate the budget being presented to the public.
1:07:00 But these budgets that are presented, they don’t really tell us
1:07:04 anything.
1:07:04 They tell us a general section where money is spent or where
1:07:11 money comes in.
1:07:13 We’re not seeing where the dollars and cents are going.
1:07:15 And when we’re talking about a millage being presented to the
1:07:21 voters,
1:07:23 it’s not really fair to ask us for
1:07:25 more money when we’re not being told where our money is going.
1:07:28 There are multiple sections in this budget that are under the
1:07:34 section of other.
1:07:38 We don’t know what other means.
1:07:39 [LAUGH] There’s probably close to $100 million worth of other
1:07:46 in this general fund budget that was presented to us.
1:07:51 So that could pay a lot of teachers, that could give them a big
1:07:56 raise.
1:07:57 And so what I’m asking in the future,
1:08:04 even if it’s just once a year, just show us where the dollars
1:08:09 and cents are going.
1:08:11 We shouldn’t have to spend a million dollars on a forensic
1:08:15 budget, or
1:08:15 I’m sorry, a forensic audit to know where the money is going.
1:08:20 And I was at the last audit meeting where RSM was there.
1:08:28 And in the materials that we were presented, the basic math was
1:08:34 even off.
1:08:37 They gave us a list of all the audits that were done since 2017.
1:08:41 Never once has a forensic audit been done.
1:08:44 And the other audits that were done, they pulled random samplings.
1:08:50 So that doesn’t necessarily tell us anything.
1:08:55 I’m asking for more transparency and for
1:09:01 the public to be able to see the dollars and
1:09:02 cents without having to pull public records requests.
1:09:06 Thank you.
1:09:07 » Thank you, Ms. Delaney.
1:09:08 Mr. Clucci?
1:09:14 [BLANK_AUDIO]
1:09:23 » My name is Anthony Clucci.
1:09:25 I’m the president of the Brevard Federation of Teachers.
1:09:27 The vote on the 2021-22 memorandums of agreement was conducted
1:09:32 from May 16th
1:09:34 through May 20th at nearly every work site in the district.
1:09:38 There were 2,408 votes cast for yes, and
1:09:41 there were 134 votes cast for no.
1:09:45 Thus, the bargaining unit ratified the MOAs with a 95% yes vote.
1:09:50 Our membership clearly saw the increases for many supplements,
1:09:54 premium pay,
1:09:56 paid COVID leave, and leapfrogging correction as positives and
1:09:59 steps in the right direction.
1:10:02 But I need to make it clear that there will be nothing
1:10:05 acceptable to our
1:10:06 membership next year than a substantial recurring raise
1:10:11 that is not wiped out by massive health insurance premium
1:10:15 increases
1:10:16 being proposed by SIAC.
1:10:18 I will remind you once again that Florida’s teachers rank 48th
1:10:23 in the nation
1:10:24 in average pay, and Brevard is $1,000 behind the average Florida
1:10:30 pay.
1:10:31 The fact is our teachers are amongst the lowest paid teachers in
1:10:35 the entire country.
1:10:37 That’s correct.
1:10:39 Our teachers in Brevard are among the lowest paid in the entire
1:10:43 country.
1:10:45 We’ve already seen some districts providing substantial raises
1:10:49 next year.
1:10:50 Yet, while I’m seeing these substantial raises in other
1:10:53 districts,
1:10:53 I’m seeing 25% proposed health insurance premiums for those with
1:10:58 families.
1:10:59 Let me say that again,
1:11:01 25% proposed premium increases on our employees with families.
1:11:07 Come on now, there’s no way our employees will be able to afford
1:11:11 thousands of
1:11:12 dollars in health insurance increases while gas hovers at $5 a
1:11:16 gallon and
1:11:17 grocery bills and housing costs soar.
1:11:20 And there’s no way BFT will support those type of health
1:11:23 insurance increases.
1:11:25 Although we’re appreciative of the non-recurring premium pay,
1:11:28 our teachers will not be fooled into supporting recurring health
1:11:32 insurance
1:11:32 premium increases from their checks.
1:11:36 School board members in all school districts are facing the same
1:11:39 issues that
1:11:40 you are, and many have found ways to deal with those challenges.
1:11:44 We are hopeful that by June 2nd, when we return to the
1:11:47 bargaining table,
1:11:48 you found a way to do so other than on the backs of our teachers.
1:11:52 Over 800 teachers left or did not return to BPS this year.
1:11:57 If you do not act quickly and appropriately at the bargaining
1:12:00 table,
1:12:01 we believe that BPS may be unable to open some schools next year
1:12:06 due to an unprecedented number of vacancies.
1:12:10 I implore you to be prepared to offer substantial raise and
1:12:14 reasonable increases to health insurance.
1:12:17 Thank you.
1:12:18 » Thank you, Mr. Clucci.
1:12:20 All right, that is going to conclude public comments on agenda
1:12:23 items.
1:12:23 We thank you for your willingness to address the board.
1:12:27 And with that, we will move into our consent agenda, Dr. Mullins?
1:12:33 » Madam Chair and members of the board, there are 15 items
1:12:35 under the consent agenda.
1:12:39 » Does any board member wish to pull any item from the consent
1:12:42 agenda?
1:12:46 So yours is actually further down.
1:12:48 It’s going to be on H32.
1:12:51 » Yep.
1:12:52 » So consent is good unless there’s something else that you all
1:12:56 need to pull
1:12:56 from the consent agenda.
1:12:58 All right, hearing none, I’ll entertain a motion to accept the
1:13:01 consent agenda
1:13:01 as presented.
1:13:04 Moved by Ms. McDougal, seconded by Ms. Campbell.
1:13:06 Is there any discussion?
1:13:09 All right, all in favor, please signify by saying aye.
1:13:12 » Aye. » Aye.
1:13:13 » Any opposed?
1:13:13 Same sign.
1:13:14 The motion passes 5-0.
1:13:20 All right, we are now at the public hearing portion of the
1:13:22 agenda.
1:13:23 First is to hold a hearing and approve item G27.
1:13:25 Is there anyone present to address the board regarding the
1:13:27 renewal charter contract,
1:13:29 Pineapple Cove Classical Academy?
1:13:34 Is there anyone present to address the board regarding the
1:13:36 renewal charter contract,
1:13:38 Pineapple Cove Classical Academy, West Melbourne?
1:13:40 And I’m going to say that one more time because I left the West
1:13:44 Melbourne off the first time
1:13:45 and I have to say it twice.
1:13:46 I don’t know why it’s just the rule.
1:13:47 Is there anyone present to address the board regarding the
1:13:50 renewal charter contract,
1:13:51 Pineapple Cove Classical Academy, West Melbourne?
1:13:55 All right, then I will entertain a motion from the board.
1:13:59 Moved by Ms. McDougal, seconded by Ms. Campbell.
1:14:01 Is there any discussion?
1:14:03 All in favor, please signify by saying aye.
1:14:05 » Aye. » Any opposed?
1:14:06 Same sign.
1:14:07 Motion passes 5-0.
1:14:09 Next is to hold a hearing and approve item G28.
1:14:12 Is there anyone present to address the board regarding renewal
1:14:14 charter contract,
1:14:15 Emma Jewell Charter Academy?
1:14:18 Is there anyone present to address the board regarding renewal
1:14:20 charter contract,
1:14:21 Emma Jewell Charter Academy?
1:14:23 Hearing none, I’ll entertain a motion.
1:14:26 Moved by Ms. McDougal, seconded by Ms. Campbell.
1:14:28 Is there any discussion?
1:14:30 All in favor, please signify by saying aye.
1:14:32 » Aye. » Any opposed?
1:14:34 Same sign.
1:14:35 Motion passes 5-0.
1:14:39 Dr. Mullins, will you please let us know about items under the
1:14:41 action portion of tonight’s agenda?
1:14:43 » The first item, H2029, is for Mr. Matt Susan’s FSBA FADS
1:14:49 travel confirmation.
1:14:51 » What are the wishes of the board?
1:14:54 » Can I talk real quick, even though I can’t vote on it?
1:14:57 » Once after I get a second.
1:14:59 Yes, you can.
1:15:01 Was that a second, Ms. McSuegal?
1:15:03 And Mr. Susan, you can vote on your travel.
1:15:05 » I know, I just, it’s crazy because I don’t even have,
1:15:09 you guys know that I stay usually in that other hotel room,
1:15:11 right?
1:15:13 But this time I was like, hey, you know what?
1:15:15 Try to be a part of the team cuz I’m on the leadership and all
1:15:17 that stuff.
1:15:17 And we don’t even have a hotel room for me.
1:15:19 But yet I’m trying to get approved.
1:15:22 And no, it’s completely full.
1:15:24 So I’m getting approved for a hotel room that I haven’t even
1:15:26 gotten yet.
1:15:27 And I normally go down the street for half as much, which would
1:15:29 mean that I don’t do this.
1:15:30 So if it gets amended, we’ll just come back and make an action
1:15:33 or something.
1:15:33 But it’s just a screwy situation the way it plays out.
1:15:36 But you gotta do it in order to get approved for it.
1:15:38 But I’m probably not even gonna be there.
1:15:39 So it’s just weird.
1:15:41 » Well, Mr. Susan, if you need my room, let me know.
1:15:43 I can always find someone to stay with in the Tampa area.
1:15:46 Cuz I’m pretty sure that Tammy did get me a room at the
1:15:48 conference hotel.
1:15:50 Cuz I have to go over for our committees and a couple of board
1:15:53 things, so.
1:15:53 » It’s okay, I’ll just- » [INAUDIBLE]
1:15:57 » Yeah, they’re supposed to open up
1:15:58 at the last minute.
1:15:58 I was just talking about the hypocrisy of the whole thing, right,
1:16:01 that’s all.
1:16:02 » [INAUDIBLE] » So are you voting?
1:16:05 » All right, so any additional discussion?
1:16:09 [BLANK_AUDIO]
1:16:20 We’re shooting from the hip without our- [INAUDIBLE]
1:16:29 » Yeah.
1:16:30 » [INAUDIBLE] » What did I do, did I do something?
1:16:36 » No, we’re fine.
1:16:37 » So the question was, it recommends an opportunity for public
1:16:40 comment, but
1:16:40 there was public comment in the agenda speakers on any of the
1:16:44 agenda items.
1:16:45 » We’re good.
1:16:45 [BLANK_AUDIO]
1:16:48 » All right, all in favor, please signify by saying aye.
1:16:51 » Aye.
1:16:51 » Any opposed, same sign, motion passes 5-0.
1:16:56 Dr. Mullins.
1:16:57 » Next is item H30, Department School Initiated Agreement.
1:17:01 » What are the wishes of the board?
1:17:03 » Second.
1:17:05 » Moved by Ms. Campbell, seconded by Ms. McDougall, is there
1:17:07 any discussion?
1:17:09 All in favor, please signify by saying aye.
1:17:11 » Aye.
1:17:12 » Any opposed, same sign, motion passes 5-0.
1:17:15 Dr. Mullins.
1:17:18 » Next is item H31, Procurement Solicitations.
1:17:21 » What are the wishes of the board?
1:17:23 » Move to approve.
1:17:23 » Seconded by Mr. Susan, seconded by Ms. Campbell, is there any
1:17:27 discussion?
1:17:29 Ms. Campbell?
1:17:30 » Yes, whenever we have air conditioning issues,
1:17:34 it’s always the big deal because it makes it hard to learn and
1:17:39 teach and work and all those things.
1:17:41 I just wanted to point out, thank, as well as the procurement
1:17:44 department,
1:17:44 Ms. Han and her department, for making this a proactive contract.
1:17:49 That we’re going to be seeing more of establishing BPS as a
1:17:53 priority customer
1:17:53 and doing the preventive maintenance.
1:17:56 And I think this is going to be a continuation of HVAC
1:18:02 improvements,
1:18:03 which of course we were able to do a lot of that through this
1:18:05 half cent sales tax and then just continuing on.
1:18:07 So thank you to both departments for getting this done for us.
1:18:15 » Anyone else?
1:18:17 All right, all in favor, please signify by saying aye.
1:18:19 » Aye. » Any opposed, same sign.
1:18:22 Motion passes 5-0.
1:18:23 Dr. Mullins.
1:18:26 » Next is item H32, Reappointment Nomination of Annual Contract
1:18:30 Teachers for the 2022-23 school year.
1:18:33 » Mr. Susan and Ms. Jenkins have a conflict of interest with
1:18:35 this item and will be abstaining from the vote.
1:18:38 Mr. Susan, please verbally advise that you’re abstaining and
1:18:41 provide the reason.
1:18:42 » I’m abstaining from the vote due to a conflict of interest as
1:18:45 it resolves.
1:18:46 » Your mic is not on.
1:18:47 » I didn’t get it anyway.
1:18:49 I’m abstaining from the vote due to a conflict of interest as it
1:18:52 involves the reappointment of my wife.
1:18:53 » Thank you, Mr. Susan.
1:18:56 Ms. Jenkins, please verbally advise that you’re abstaining and
1:18:58 provide the reason.
1:18:59 » I’m abstaining from the vote due to a conflict of interest as
1:19:01 it involves the reappointment of my husband.
1:19:03 » Thank you, Ms. Jenkins.
1:19:04 Do I hear a motion?
1:19:06 » I move to second.
1:19:07 » Moved by Ms. McDougall and seconded by Ms. Campbell.
1:19:09 Is there any discussion?
1:19:12 All in favor, please signify by saying aye.
1:19:14 » Aye.
1:19:16 » Any opposed, same sign.
1:19:18 The motion passes three to zero with two abstaining.
1:19:22 » Get one more teacher person on the board or they’ll be in
1:19:24 trouble.
1:19:24 » Right.
1:19:26 » Like hopefully.
1:19:28 » Yeah, we won’t have a majority.
1:19:30 Yeah, you guys are gonna have to get divorced or something, I
1:19:33 don’t know what it is I am.
1:19:35 All right, the last action item is H33, the district, Dr. Mullins,
1:19:41 I’m reading yours.
1:19:42 » You’re doing it so well.
1:19:43 » Thanks.
1:19:44 » The last action item is H33, the district application for
1:19:47 Title I, Part A.
1:19:48 » What are the wishes of the board?
1:19:49 » Move to second.
1:19:51 » Moved by Ms. McDougall, seconded by Ms. Jenkins.
1:19:56 Is there any discussion?
1:19:58 All in favor, please signify by saying aye.
1:19:59 » Aye.
1:20:00 » Any opposed, same sign.
1:20:02 Motion passes five, zero.
1:20:07 All right, we will move on to the information agenda, which
1:20:10 includes items for board review and
1:20:11 may be brought back for action at a subsequent meeting.
1:20:14 No action will be taken on these items tonight, Dr. Mullins.
1:20:17 » There are two items in the information category.
1:20:20 » Mr. Susan, I believe you indicated that you wanted to speak
1:20:25 to I-34.
1:20:25 » Yeah, and I know that this isn’t for action today, but I’ll
1:20:28 just be honest with you guys, our schools are in bad need of
1:20:32 revenue.
1:20:33 And what this is doing is reducing the amount of revenue that
1:20:35 goes to them even though it’s increasing by 20%, it’s almost
1:20:38 keeping it the same, if that makes sense.
1:20:40 And I truly believe that with the amount of revenue that we have
1:20:44 coming into the district,
1:20:46 the functionality of facilities being used at the schools don’t
1:20:51 always pertain to increase in the fees.
1:20:54 Now I do know that electricity, say for instance, needs to be
1:20:58 increased, right?
1:20:59 That’s included in the 20% increase.
1:21:01 You start looking at some of them, and to increase the district’s
1:21:06 portion of the facility use while decreasing the facility use
1:21:10 portion for
1:21:10 the schools while increasing the overall by 20%, I think, I know
1:21:17 it’s coming back,
1:21:18 but I just wanted to view my point that I don’t think I’ll
1:21:20 approve that portion of it, and I’d like to start working with
1:21:23 staff on it.
1:21:23 The idea is that this is money that our schools need, and to
1:21:28 increase it by 20% great,
1:21:30 but there’s gotta be a huge justification for the district to
1:21:33 take a portion of our schools away, that’s all.
1:21:35 And I don’t want to have staff come up and explain it, because I
1:21:38 can get with them before it comes to action, but I just wanted
1:21:40 to make a statement, that’s all.
1:21:44 Yeah, it’s just information, so that’s all.
1:21:46 » Well, just for the board’s clarification, we’re happy to
1:21:48 provide any clarification of the details of the increase in the
1:21:51 building use agreement.
1:21:53 Just for clarification, we are moving towards the procurement of
1:21:57 a online management software program for
1:22:01 building use agreements that will alleviate work on the school’s
1:22:05 part as well as on district staff, but it does come with a cost.
1:22:09 And 10%, at least 10% of the cost increase is going just to
1:22:14 cover the cost of that tool.
1:22:16 The additional increase is to offset growing expenses to the
1:22:20 district related to facility use,
1:22:23 but we were cognizant of any reduction in revenue to the schools
1:22:28 themselves.
1:22:29 So there is no anticipated reduction of revenue to the schools
1:22:33 based on past
1:22:35 utilization of outside entities using our buildings.
1:22:40 That’s assuming they continue to use them at the same rate,
1:22:43 obviously.
1:22:44 So just for the board’s discussion, happy to provide more
1:22:46 information to the board between now and the next meeting if
1:22:49 there are questions.
1:22:50 Mr. Susan, I’ll certainly follow up with you as well.
1:22:53 » Okay, yeah, we’ll follow up.
1:22:55 I just, if we’re going to be moving to an online system, then
1:22:57 that should reduce the amount of workforce that’s needed.
1:22:59 We might be able to offset the cost there.
1:23:01 I just know how much that means to some of the schools, that’s
1:23:03 all, thanks.
1:23:06 » All right, does any board member wish to discuss any other
1:23:08 item on the information agenda, Mr. Susan?
1:23:11 » I think I passed you over a note, sorry, I was giving you
1:23:14 those notes like that.
1:23:15 Did you give it to her, McDougall?
1:23:17 You threw it away?
1:23:18 » We are not to board discussion quite yet.
1:23:21 I just need to close out information first, and then I’m coming
1:23:23 to you on the other note that you passed me, Mr. Susan.
1:23:28 Any board member wish to discuss any of the other information
1:23:30 items?
1:23:31 Okay, all right, then that is going to move us into board member
1:23:34 reports and discussion points.
1:23:36 Any board members have information to report or discuss, Mr.
1:23:39 Susan?
1:23:40 » Yeah, no, I just wanted to talk about, and this is something
1:23:44 that I was just going to throw out there, and I might go to
1:23:47 staff, but I wanted to give you a heads up.
1:23:48 So a lot of our tracks are being built right now, and Miss Han
1:23:50 has been working really hard to make sure that they get built
1:23:54 for our schools.
1:23:54 And innovatively, she was able to figure out that we could
1:23:58 reduce the width of the tracks, and they’ve been working really
1:24:01 good hand in hand.
1:24:01 But some of our schools are running into a situation where some
1:24:05 of the other things,
1:24:06 the pits and the long jumps and all that stuff cost a little bit
1:24:09 of more money to do.
1:24:10 And they’ve all been told ahead of time that they would have to
1:24:13 fundraise on their own, and that’s pertinent, that’s respectful.
1:24:17 But one of the things that I might go ask Sue is, hey, would
1:24:20 they be allowed to do a loan for that section so that they could
1:24:25 actually do that, that’s all.
1:24:27 And I’ll go to her, then I’ll come back, but I was just letting
1:24:30 you guys know that I was going to move on that because I think
1:24:33 it’s kind of nice to be able to,
1:24:35 while they’re there doing it, to be able to allow them to do it.
1:24:38 Some of these schools can’t fundraise quick enough to get it,
1:24:40 and so they’re going to have the rubberized track, but they’re
1:24:43 not going to have the other pieces to it.
1:24:44 So it’d be nice to be able to allow them to take out a loan in
1:24:47 some sort of fashion.
1:24:49 So I might just meet with them and do that, give them that
1:24:51 opportunity, that’s all.
1:24:52 If nobody else is against me going to ask about it, to bring it
1:24:56 back as a conversation point maybe.
1:24:58 » I would just encourage you to have the conversation with Dr.
1:25:02 Mullins and then go from there so that you can know the ins and
1:25:05 outs and make sure that all the i’s are dotted and t’s are
1:25:07 crossed for the conversation.
1:25:08 » Yeah, basically, they should be able to loan money so that
1:25:11 they can pay for their pits, that’s all.
1:25:13 » Just because we’ve spoken into existence the concept of a
1:25:17 loan, I need for the public to understand we cannot loan.
1:25:20 We cannot loan schools revenue or money to do projects.
1:25:26 We can pay for the project and they can reimburse the district
1:25:30 over time, but it is not a loan.
1:25:32 There are no agreements and that sort of thing.
1:25:34 The district has done that in the past.
1:25:36 We’ve moved away from that intentionally, but if the board wants
1:25:39 us to reconsider that, that’s something we can bring back to the
1:25:42 board.
1:25:42 But it’s not a loan, it’s- » We’re not charging interest.
1:25:46 » There’s no interest, it’s we are paying for the project with
1:25:51 expectation and some agreement that the school would repay it.
1:25:55 But we don’t have, it’s not a formal loan.
1:25:59 We are not a financial institution to be able to do things like
1:26:02 that, so.
1:26:03 » And what Dr. Mullins is not saying is that there were some
1:26:05 loans that were given out to things that we ended up having to
1:26:08 pay off because they couldn’t pay them back and stuff like that.
1:26:10 I know where this conversation is going.
1:26:12 » So for clarification, we didn’t have to pay off because there
1:26:15 was no official loan.
1:26:17 » You know why you guys get caught in the semantics.
1:26:20 We basically let the schools pay us back, but we had to assume
1:26:25 it.
1:26:25 But there’s just an opportunity here.
1:26:26 So I’m just trying to figure out if there’s an opportunity, some
1:26:29 way to make it happen, that’s all.
1:26:30 Whether it’s not a loan, whether it’s some other thing.
1:26:33 So- » Perhaps school matching funds.
1:26:37 » There you go.
1:26:38 But a special school matching, a special school matching.
1:26:41 » No, but I know that facilities has that program that you can
1:26:45 match the funds.
1:26:47 » But it’s only up to a certain amount.
1:26:48 » Well, yes, it’s equal for everybody at every school.
1:26:53 » School matching fund was made for like playgrounds and small
1:26:57 stuff.
1:26:58 Not $60,000 worth of other stuff.
1:27:04 We used to have a large match, if you remember, or we were
1:27:06 talking about it.
1:27:07 That might be worth something.
1:27:10 » Potentially could be.
1:27:11 » There it is.
1:27:12 » All right, any additional board member discussion points?
1:27:17 » I want to share with you all just before we get into our last
1:27:22 public comment.
1:27:23 I think you all are aware, but I’m not sure.
1:27:26 Dr. Mullins and I, along with the chair of our audit committee
1:27:30 and our financial services team,
1:27:32 had to meet this afternoon with the auditor general who, as you
1:27:35 know,
1:27:35 is coming in to do their every three years audit that they do of
1:27:39 the district.
1:27:40 And so we had our entry meeting this afternoon for they’re
1:27:46 coming
1:27:46 in to do both an operational audit as well as a financial and
1:27:49 federal funds audit.
1:27:50 Looking to finish those up probably July, but it’ll take some
1:27:55 time for us to get the report
1:27:56 on the operational and then probably November, I think, on the
1:28:01 financial and federal funding one.
1:28:05 There again, it’ll take some time for them
1:28:06 to actually complete the report after the audit is completed.
1:28:09 But I just wanted to share with you all, I know there’s, we talk
1:28:14 all the time
1:28:15 about the fact that they come and look at all these things.
1:28:18 But so in our last audit, and they actually provided this to me
1:28:23 today after we met with them
1:28:24 because I thought it was important for you all to know exactly
1:28:27 what it is that they’re looking at.
1:28:28 So information technology policies and procedures to determine
1:28:33 whether policies
1:28:34 and procedures address certain important IT control functions
1:28:38 such as security system development and maintenance, network
1:28:40 configuration,
1:28:41 management systems backup, and disaster recovery.
1:28:44 District procedures for maintaining reviewing employee access to
1:28:47 IT data and resources.
1:28:50 Selected operating system database network and application
1:28:54 security settings
1:28:55 to determine whether authentication controls were configured and
1:28:57 enforced in accordance
1:28:58 with IT best practices.
1:29:00 District procedures for protecting the sensitive personal
1:29:03 information
1:29:03 of students including social security numbers.
1:29:07 The general fund total unassigned and assigned fund balances
1:29:12 to determine whether the total was less than the 3% of the fund’s
1:29:16 revenues as specified
1:29:17 in Florida statutes, which you all are familiar with.
1:29:20 And analytical procedures to evaluate the district’s ability
1:29:24 to make future debt service payments.
1:29:26 The population of expenditures from non-voted capital outlay tax
1:29:33 levy proceeds,
1:29:34 public education capital outlay funds, sales tax, and other
1:29:37 restricted capital project funds.
1:29:39 Expenditures for workforce education program funds.
1:29:52 Adult general education instructional students during the audit
1:29:58 period.
1:29:59 The hours that they actually were in class.
1:30:04 The established audit committee and that our audit committee has
1:30:09 followed their prescribed
1:30:10 procedures to contract for audit services.
1:30:15 And whether or not we have an internal auditor.
1:30:18 Board policies and district procedures and evaluating controls
1:30:25 over the transportation department inventories for the audit
1:30:29 period.
1:30:30 The superintendents contract.
1:30:39 They dig into our fingerprinting and background screening.
1:30:44 School volunteer policies.
1:30:50 Florida best and brightest teacher scholarship program they
1:30:53 looked at before.
1:30:54 They’ll be looking this time at TSIA to make sure that all of
1:30:57 that is handled properly as well
1:30:58 as all of the federal dollars that we’re getting.
1:31:03 Board policies and district procedures for ethical conduct
1:31:06 for instructional personnel and school administrators.
1:31:09 Board policies and district procedures to ensure health
1:31:12 insurance was provided only
1:31:13 to eligible employees, retirees, independents.
1:31:17 Bidding and purchasing.
1:31:20 Construction projects.
1:31:23 They’re looking at our design and build construction manager and
1:31:27 architect contracts.
1:31:28 They’re looking at subcontractor selection, negotiation
1:31:36 monitoring of general condition costs.
1:31:39 Our payments, how readily we pay our contractors.
1:31:43 Our fire safety, casualty safety and sanitation inspection
1:31:50 reports.
1:31:50 As well as ensuring that we are doing all of our required drills
1:31:54 by the state for school safety.
1:31:56 So I still have more pages to go here.
1:31:58 But I share that with you all because I think it’s important for
1:32:00 you all
1:32:01 to understand the depth at which they are working.
1:32:04 And also that of course is going to require that our staff
1:32:10 who is already carrying very full plates is going to have to be
1:32:14 available and willing
1:32:15 to divert their time to work with the auditors during this
1:32:17 period to make sure
1:32:18 that they have all of the information that they need.
1:32:20 So thanks to the auditor general for coming in and doing a very
1:32:24 thorough job of digging
1:32:25 into all that we do and thanks to our staff who is inevitably
1:32:28 going to have
1:32:29 to work very collaboratively with them over the next several
1:32:33 months until we can get those reports.
1:32:35 So just wanted to make sure that you all were aware since you
1:32:38 weren’t in the meeting with us.
1:32:39 » Ms. Belfort, if I can add, maybe you said it and I missed it.
1:32:42 But the outcome of that audit will be presented to the audit
1:32:46 committee in a public meeting.
1:32:49 And of course the district has to account for any items that are
1:32:54 identified as a finding
1:32:56 as to the corrections that will take place in addressing the
1:33:01 audit.
1:33:02 As well as while they’re here, we will be obligated to provide
1:33:07 our follow
1:33:08 through to the last audit they had and those findings that they
1:33:12 identified.
1:33:13 So again, it’s a very obviously it’s a public process and all of
1:33:19 the documents
1:33:20 and the findings are made available to the public.
1:33:23 I would also remind our viewing public that Brevard Public
1:33:27 Schools both our budget
1:33:28 and our annual financial report is both available on our website
1:33:33 as well as the Florida Department
1:33:34 of Education website which does provide a very detailed
1:33:39 description of all budgeted items
1:33:41 and then how they are expended in the annual financial report.
1:33:45 What is presented to the board as you know in board meetings are
1:33:49 budget amendments throughout
1:33:50 the year from the original budget to the time in question.
1:33:56 So but again, all documents are available certainly if not
1:33:59 through public certainly if not
1:34:01 on our website or through the DOE website certainly available
1:34:06 through public record.
1:34:08 » Thank you, Dr. Mullins and if you look at the document that
1:34:15 was referenced earlier
1:34:16 in public comment is actually our interim financial statements
1:34:22 which is not yeah,
1:34:25 it’s not exactly the same as our budget amendment but is
1:34:28 actually more detailed
1:34:31 than what we have seen previously because they shifted to a new
1:34:36 format for that.
1:34:36 So but yes, all of that is available.
1:34:40 Thank you for pointing that out.
1:34:42 All right, anyone else have anything to add before we move
1:34:46 into our final public comment portion?
1:34:48 All right, then we will now hear the remaining speakers who
1:34:51 signed
1:34:52 up to comment on non-agenda items.
1:34:53 Each speaker is limited to three minutes.
1:34:55 We have a clock in front of me to help you keep track of your
1:34:57 time.
1:34:58 When your time is over, you’ll be asked to stop and allow the
1:35:00 next speaker his or her turn.
1:35:01 We’ll hear from the speakers in the order in which they signed
1:35:03 up including those who may be waiting outside.
1:35:05 As stated earlier, reasonable decorum is expected at all times
1:35:08 and your statement should be directed to the board chair.
1:35:11 Should audience participation interfere with speakers being
1:35:13 heard or hearing me,
1:35:14 I will be forced to clear the room.
1:35:16 When I call your name, please line up along the east wall of the
1:35:19 boardroom
1:35:19 to facilitate the smooth transition of speakers.
1:35:22 Our first three speakers are Diana Haynes, Katie Delaney and
1:35:25 Cheryl–
1:35:26 I never get this last name right– Wojahowski.
1:35:30 Did I say it right this time?
1:35:31 Woohoo.
1:35:35 [ Pause ]
1:35:48 » A couple of weeks ago, I appeared before the school board to
1:35:51 speak on several subjects
1:35:53 of great controversy and Madam Chairperson, you took it upon
1:35:57 yourself
1:35:57 to infringe upon my constitutional rights, the First Amendment
1:36:01 right to free speech.
1:36:03 That event will have consequences.
1:36:04 Previously prior to every meeting, you started with what is
1:36:09 conceived to be a myriad
1:36:09 of threats to the audience attending.
1:36:12 You threatened us with the possibility of arrest by having a
1:36:15 room full
1:36:16 of Brevard County Sheriff’s deputies and by your harsh words.
1:36:20 You threatened to have us removed or trespassed
1:36:23 so that we would be silenced for a long period of time.
1:36:26 I believe because Madam Chairperson, you don’t particularly care
1:36:30 to hear what we have to say.
1:36:33 That’s not your right.
1:36:35 We are still here in the United States of America where we still
1:36:37 follow the Constitution,
1:36:39 the Declaration and Bill of Rights.
1:36:41 You’re not a dictator in charge here.
1:36:42 You were placed in that seat by me, by the taxpayers and by the
1:36:46 voters.
1:36:47 You work for us.
1:36:48 That is not a joke.
1:36:50 I cannot tell you or you cannot tell me what language I can use,
1:36:57 what words I choose to say.
1:36:59 And if you continue to pursue that particular line
1:37:03 of directing the Brevard County Sheriff’s deputies to go after
1:37:07 myself or anyone else
1:37:08 and infringe on our constitutional rights,
1:37:10 I want you to know the Brevard County Sheriff’s Department to
1:37:13 know and everyone in the public
1:37:15 to know that there will be consequences and the full weight of
1:37:19 the law will be applied.
1:37:21 We will no longer be silenced.
1:37:23 We will no longer be tolerant of the Nazi ways that go on in
1:37:27 this particular meeting.
1:37:30 I came here to speak to you about things that are a concern to
1:37:34 many parents in this community
1:37:35 and I will not have my rights impeded.
1:37:39 You already have a suit going on in the courts with this exact
1:37:43 matter being addressed,
1:37:44 a violation of First Amendment rights.
1:37:47 You’re about to have a second.
1:37:49 I came here as a parent, a grandparent and a taxpayer to demand
1:37:53 to know what was going on in our schools.
1:37:56 Like I said previously, there are kids in knife fights, scissor
1:37:59 fights, bomb threats,
1:38:00 shooting threats, bullying on so many levels that parents are
1:38:04 still removing.
1:38:12 » I’m father of three children in Brevard Public Schools and I’m
1:38:16 deeply concerned
1:38:17 about efforts to make it easier to ban books and from school
1:38:22 curricula and library shelves.
1:38:24 There’s a sentiment from Tallahassee that material on American
1:38:28 history, politics
1:38:30 or social studies should be banned if it makes students or their
1:38:34 parents uncomfortable.
1:38:36 Unfortunately, the story of America can be ugly and painful
1:38:40 for both white and minority students.
1:38:43 But that should not stop educators from providing our children
1:38:47 with truthful education on race
1:38:49 that does not spare them from the realities of slavery,
1:38:52 Jim Crow, segregation and discrimination.
1:38:57 Our children need to hear the stories of heroes, black and white,
1:39:01 who fought against this oppression.
1:39:03 Candid instruction on America’s sins and its struggles to reckon
1:39:08 with them would serve three purposes.
1:39:10 First, it prevents future generations.
1:39:13 Our children from making the mistakes of our ancestors.
1:39:17 Second, it sheds light on why African Americans
1:39:20 and other minority groups lag behind in education, health and
1:39:24 wealth.
1:39:25 History tells us these disparities are not due to personal
1:39:29 inadequacies,
1:39:30 but because of recurrent and systemic discrimination that has
1:39:33 served to undermine progress.
1:39:36 Understanding this is an important weapon to counter the same
1:39:40 racism
1:39:41 that killed 10 innocent black men and women in Buffalo a few
1:39:45 weeks ago.
1:39:46 Third, the history of oppressed people in this nation is as much
1:39:50 a history
1:39:51 of success as it is of cruelty.
1:39:54 The esteem of our children, particularly minority children,
1:39:58 benefits when they understand that they come from people
1:40:00 who have triumphed in the face of this adversity.
1:40:04 Instead of second-guessing educators, this board should err on
1:40:08 the side of retaining books,
1:40:10 leaving them on the shelves and in curricula while challenges
1:40:14 by organizations and individuals are reviewed.
1:40:17 This review process should be transparent, and the threshold
1:40:21 for removing such literature should be sky high.
1:40:25 The potential damage from sanitizing and politicizing school
1:40:29 curricula is much greater
1:40:31 than the risk of exposing our children to supposedly
1:40:34 inappropriate materials,
1:40:36 materials that have already been curated by teachers and
1:40:39 administrators and librarians
1:40:41 who are experts in student learning.
1:40:44 Knowledge and truth are not threats to our children, but
1:40:47 censorship is.
1:40:48 Thank you.
1:40:49 » Thank you, Mr. Hosey.
1:40:53 Greg Ross.
1:40:58 » Good evening, board.
1:40:59 First, I just want to say congrats on the school survey results.
1:41:02 It was great to see that three out of four parents are satisfied
1:41:06 or very satisfied with the Brevard Public School.
1:41:08 So, great.
1:41:08 Congratulations, well-deserved.
1:41:11 I’m here tonight.
1:41:13 I just want to speak to you guys a little bit.
1:41:14 I have two children in public schools.
1:41:17 One just graduated Heritage.
1:41:19 I think we’re all lucky to survive that graduation ceremony on
1:41:23 Friday night.
1:41:24 My youngest is a freshman at Bayside High starting this fall.
1:41:30 So, I’ve been involved with Brevard schools for 13 years, and
1:41:36 over that period,
1:41:36 my children have attended Title I schools.
1:41:38 They’ve attended Choice schools.
1:41:40 They’ve attended Virtual School.
1:41:42 They’ve attended educational program opportunities.
1:41:44 They’ve attended CTE programs.
1:41:47 I have been active too.
1:41:51 I’ve been a volunteer in multiple Brevard schools, judged
1:41:54 science fairs,
1:41:55 served on numerous SAC committees, been on textbook adoption
1:42:00 committees.
1:42:01 And so, what I’m trying to get to here is, what am I trying to
1:42:05 say?
1:42:06 I’ve been very active with Brevard schools over that 13 years.
1:42:09 I’ve seen the school board members make both wise and unwise
1:42:13 decisions
1:42:13 as any school board is prone to do.
1:42:17 From the software fiasco of a few years ago to the
1:42:20 scientifically based correct decision
1:42:22 to mask our students during the height of the COVID pandemic.
1:42:26 What have I learned about schools in that time?
1:42:30 That biases have no place in our schools or on our school board.
1:42:34 Schools should be a safe place for all children, regardless of
1:42:37 race, color,
1:42:38 gender identity, sexual preference, and even economic standing.
1:42:44 I’m here simply to say thank you to the school board members who
1:42:46 stand for all students,
1:42:48 parents, teachers, and staff.
1:42:50 Thank you to the members who make decisions based upon
1:42:53 scientific knowledge
1:42:54 and not religious beliefs.
1:42:56 Thank you to the members who make decisions based upon doing the
1:42:59 right thing
1:42:59 and not being right.
1:43:01 Thank you to the members who make decisions based upon
1:43:04 compassion and not fear.
1:43:06 Thank you to the members who make decisions based upon spreading
1:43:09 knowledge
1:43:10 and not guarding the realities of the world.
1:43:12 Thank you to the members who make decisions based upon
1:43:15 progressing and not regressing.
1:43:17 That’s it.
1:43:18 Thank you.
1:43:19 The world is watching what you do, and history will remember the
1:43:22 things you do here.
1:43:23 Thank you.
1:43:23 » Thank you, Mr. Ross, and thank you for being an engaged
1:43:27 parent.
1:43:28 James Nelson.
1:43:29 And as James is approaching, our last speaker this evening will
1:43:32 be Terry Hart.
1:43:32 If you wouldn’t mind lining up on the east wall, Terry, whenever
1:43:38 you’re ready, Mr. Nelson.
1:43:39 » Okay, thank you.
1:43:40 Thank you to the board for allowing me to speak this evening.
1:43:43 I practiced for 60 seconds, so I’m not sure what I’m going to do
1:43:46 up here
1:43:46 for the last few minutes, but many years ago I could talk as
1:43:50 fast as a guy on the FedEx commercial,
1:43:52 but those years are long gone, so I’ve been meaning to come down
1:43:56 here for several months,
1:43:58 since probably October, November of last year, and I wanted to
1:44:02 come down here to say thank you.
1:44:04 And specifically to Mrs. Belford, Mrs. McDougall, and Mrs.
1:44:09 Jenkins,
1:44:09 who from early 2020 till this day have done your job.
1:44:15 You’ve done your duty.
1:44:17 Unlike certain national, state, and local officials who at best,
1:44:22 at best committed their elixir of their duty, you three did your
1:44:28 duty.
1:44:28 Now, for doing your duty, what happened?
1:44:31 Well, what I saw on TV was you were attacked, harassed, slandered,
1:44:37 libeled, defamed,
1:44:39 had your children scared, and had your private property trespassed.
1:44:45 Now, who did this?
1:44:46 Well, I don’t want to talk about those people.
1:44:48 I don’t want to talk about them.
1:44:50 I’m here to speak for the people of Brevard County that I
1:44:53 represent that believe
1:44:54 in quiet enjoyment of my home, quiet enjoyment of my private
1:44:59 property.
1:45:00 I’m here to speak for the people of Brevard County that believe
1:45:03 in freedom of speech,
1:45:04 and as a gentleman who was just up here, a few previous
1:45:07 gentlemen talk about science, logic,
1:45:11 reason, and doing the right thing no matter who says it’s the
1:45:17 wrong thing.
1:45:19 And also for standing up to certain state officials who,
1:45:23 unfortunately, disagree with you all.
1:45:25 So to make a long story short, that cloth up there with the red,
1:45:30 white, and blue,
1:45:31 because of what you three did and had to put up with, a look at
1:45:35 that flag over there
1:45:36 and smile with pride, not a boastful pride or a bragging pride
1:45:40 or a conceited pride,
1:45:42 but a very humble, thankful, grateful pride.
1:45:44 So thank you three very, very much.
1:45:46 » Thank you, Mr. Nelson.
1:45:50 Terry Hart.
1:45:58 » Hi. Thank you for letting me speak.
1:46:01 I decided to come down today after watching the last board
1:46:08 meeting online,
1:46:10 and it really got me upset, all the things that were said.
1:46:13 The first thing I do want to say to all of you is based on
1:46:18 everything
1:46:18 that happened here today earlier, congratulations.
1:46:22 I mean, all the awards that this county and the school board,
1:46:25 the schools have gotten,
1:46:27 I mean, that’s fabulous, and that’s what these meetings should
1:46:31 be about is making sure that,
1:46:35 you know, we get, you know, the best music programs and the best
1:46:40 education
1:46:42 and recognizing the teachers and advancing teachers, advancing
1:46:47 students.
1:46:48 We’re not going to get that if we start banning bugs.
1:46:51 We’re not going to get that if we close our minds and close our
1:46:58 kids’ minds
1:46:59 to everything that’s out there.
1:47:04 I know it’s a touchy issue.
1:47:07 I know some people can look at classics and see pornography.
1:47:13 But, you know, pornography isn’t subjective.
1:47:17 There’s a definition of pornography, and if somebody knows what
1:47:22 the definition
1:47:24 of pornography is, none of these books that they’re wanting to
1:47:28 ban are pornographic.
1:47:31 And so I hope whenever you guys decide who’s going to be on
1:47:36 these review committees
1:47:38 that they actually understand the difference between what is
1:47:42 considered pornography
1:47:43 and what is not considered pornography.
1:47:47 These books that they want banned, I read them all.
1:47:51 I read them all when I was in high school.
1:47:52 I read them in college.
1:47:55 They didn’t, anyway, anyway, that’s basically what I want to say.
1:48:04 I’m hoping that you guys, you guys did a great thing.
1:48:10 You stood up to voices back when they didn’t want you to allow
1:48:16 the schools to,
1:48:18 the kids to be masked when the virus was spreading.
1:48:21 You had the courage to stand up.
1:48:23 I hope you have the courage to stand up again and not let, I
1:48:28 believe, a minority of parents
1:48:33 take away the right of our kids to have access to good education.
1:48:41 Thank you.
1:48:42 » Thank you, Ms. Hart.
1:48:46 All right.
1:48:49 Board wishes to thank this evening’s speakers for joining us.
1:48:52 Any board members have anything before I go ahead and gavel us
1:48:56 out?
1:48:56 » I’ll remind everybody next time,
1:48:59 but remember the Summer Fine Arts Theatre Workshop starts next
1:49:02 week,
1:49:02 and the shows are already scheduled for the weekend of the first,
1:49:08 hang on, calendar up,
1:49:11 June 30th, July 1st, and July 2nd.
1:49:14 We’ll be doing Peter Pan and Sister Act.
1:49:19 So, I’ll put some more announcements next time, but we’re not
1:49:23 going to meet for another three weeks,
1:49:24 so I just want to let everybody know that’s going on.
1:49:26 » Yes, thank you, Ms. Campbell, for that reminder.
1:49:28 We appreciate it.
1:49:30 » No, I do.
1:49:30 » Peter Pan.
1:49:33 » Anybody else have anything to go to the order?
1:49:36 All right.
1:49:37 There being no further business, this meeting is now adjourned.
1:49:40 Have a great night.
1:50:00 [ Music ]
1:50:30 [ Silence ]